Who's On Provence Post Now?

Friday, December 16, 2011

A couple weeks ago I borrowed a copy ofPierre Deux's French Country, written 27 years ago by my old pal Linda Dannenberg. I needed a break from work...and a few hours on the couch with this gorgeous book was the perfect way to spend it.French Countryis one of those timeless coffee-table books filled with captivating interiors that make you want to pull apart your house and redecorate immediately. It has beautifully researched chapters and sidebars on Provencale history, culture, fabrics, furniture, pottery, gardens and people, to name just a few. I decided then and there that I had to buy a copy for myself...and I planned to go to Amazon as soon as I got up off the couch. But the phone rang and I got distracted and the book--and the plan--were forgotten. And then, in one of those divine convergences of good luck and perfect timing that never seem to happen to me (I always pay full retail the week before the sale is announced), a friend gave me some old books because she's moving away. And lo and behold, there in the bag, was a copy of French Country. Score!

So why am I telling you all this? The book made me wonder what Linda had been up to, so I dropped her a note to check in. Turns out, Linda followed French Country with not one but five successful titles: New French Country,French Country Kitchens,Paris Bistro Cooking and Perfect Vinaigrettes. In between the last two, she collaborated with legendary chef Alain Ducasse on Ducasse: Flavors of France.

Clearly this is not a woman who lies down on the couch to read in the middle of the work day!

But wait, there's more. During all this fancy book writing, Linda has also been producing the hardcover French Country Diary, a week-at a-glance engagement calendar filled with evocative photos and vignettes of France. This is the 24th annual edition and apparently they've sold zillions. (Seriously, how did I miss all this?)

Stay with me here because we're almost at the part where you get free stuff.

So Linda tells me about the new calendar, produced by her company Arts & Style Publishing, and I'm thinking "My readers would love that!" So I asked if she'd be willing to give one away on my blog and she responded: "Mais oui! Not one but three!"

How nice is that?

The French Country Diary 2012, with a linen-textured, floral book cover, lies snug within a blue Provençal-patterned slipcase. Each of the 52 week-at-a-glance spreads, featuring photographs by Guy Bouchet, offers an intimate snapshot of the French countryside: gardens, private homes, gastronomy, villages, inspiring landscapes and so forth. Among the memorable spots in this year’s Diary is breakfast at a beautiful inn near Les Baux de Provence, a postcard-perfect village in Burgundy called Semur-en-Auxois and a peek at an extraordinary Paris apartment furnished exclusively in 18th-century antiques (pictured). Each spread features vintage French typography and a dates page adorned with a strip of Provençal fabric from Olivades. The Diary includes generous space for jotting daily notes and decorative address pages. It has 128-pages and it retails for $21.99,

To win one of the three copies that Linda is giving away, just leave a comment (by clicking "comments") right below this post. And be sure to leave your email address in the body of your message so we can reach you. To keep things simple for Linda, this giveaway is open only to readers with addresses in the U.S. and Canada. Or, feel free to enter to give the Diary as a gift to a U.S. or Canada-based friend.

If you'd like to buy the diary, a great gift for anyone who loves France, you can do thathere. It's also in bookstores and onAmazon. Meanwhile, if you don't have the book French Country or Linda's more-recent New French Country, treat yourself to a copy if you can find one online--you'll love it. Or, order a signed copy of New French Country ($40 retail) directly from Linda at the special "friends and family" price of $15. To do that--or contact her about anything else--email her at: artsandstylepublishing@gmail.com.Meanwhile, good luck in our giveaway!

Hello! Let's see, how to be creative about this? I have spent my life collecting beautiful things to look at and hold, knowing that I will always need small objects of beauty to offer as tokens of love to friends and family. This book sounds as if it fits in this category. I would love to enter my name and email Julscol@me.com.

I am going to try to fall in love with this house I am living in now, painting, some redecorating...but I would love small touches like this because I am going....French Country which I have been in love with for at least 10 years! I try to pick up anything I can about French Country, anywhere!

Just looking at the cover would bring an instant smile to face and keep up my resolve to make this house into a home I love! (I live now in an area 8 hours away from my family and things have not worked out quite the way I thought they would. But I'm being positive!)

I love Linda Dannenberg's books. The first of her's that I discovered was about 30 years ago, when I was just a teenager: "The Paris Way of Beauty." And it remains my favorite. There aren't many books you can say changed your life, but this one absolutely did. First book I'd ever seen in the early '80s that described what French women did to make themselves look so wonderful, which has been a lifelong obsession for me. I would love to win this calendar! Please enter me in the draw.

"Mais oui! Not one but three!"So I have a fighting chance, then?Whatever the odds are, thank you for taking the time to write your blog, it's clearly appreciated far beyond the various corners of Provence.

This would be a beautiful gift for my daughter for her 19th birthday on Christmas Eve. A taste of France, for her first year away at college and for her straight A's. So proud, and a promise of a trip, perhaps when she graduates... to see the world that she studies about and that she is so incredibly interested in. Thank you, Julie for the entertaining post. I loved the "but wait, there's more." That really made me laugh...

I love her books I have all the Pierre Deux series books and missed her diaries the past few years. I wish I kept the ones I sent as Christmas gifts! I went ahead and ordered on Amazon but would love to be entered for the contest.

Dear Linda... Ispent the month of September in Semur-en-Auxois, and loved revisiting the Brugundian countryside! The patch-work field, the ancient stone walls, the quaint villages peppering the landscape! I have a friend, who is French, 84 and alone. she can no longer travel, and does not have a computer to keep track of her MD appointments. i would love to give her the diary... as I know how much she would enjoy it. Many thanks, for crearing it! Judith Dunn, Tallahassee

Having spent the last few years verbally sharing my passion for Provence with my fiance, we were finally able to take our dream trip this past Spring. I got to show her 'my' Provence, particularly the Haut Var. With an utter sense of calm at breakfast on the 3rd day she stated "I get it....why would anyone want to live anywhere else???" Thus, we agreed to work at making the dream become reality. Until then, though, we devour all things Provence. And books like this help to keep our hopes alive. Merci mille fois.

I am so happy to have just discovered this blog. Longtime French and France lover, French teacher--I do so try to put a bit of France into my everyday life and it makes such a difference--am reading Black Diamond at the moment about truffle treachery in the Perigord--so exciting and informative for a Policier--thanks for this site--it's a gift in inself. robynfrance@gmail.com

I have most of Linda Dannenberg's books, and have every one of the diaries except 1991 and last year! I waited too long and it was sold out!! I ordered mine early this year, as I have come to rely on them as not only a diary, but a little place to dream each day. This is a lovely giveaway! Thank you.French at Hearthttp://frenchatheart.blogspot.com/

I've just discovered your blog through Chic Provence and now following you! I live in SW France, but have lots of old friends in the USA , so if by any lucky chance I win, one of them is going to get a lovely surprise in the post!

Julie - great post for a lovely woman, Linda! I just spoke with her today (as we offer the diary too)! The diary is lovely and it is really a collector's item. People get hooked and look forward to it year after year. Exclude me from the drawing just wanted to drop a line to say hi!

Starting each day by gazing at this gorgeous diary from such a long way away, remembering childhood memories, wandering down the cobblestone streets of small villages and smelling the scents of lavender mixed to the aromas of French food…I would so love a copy sent my way!From Australia .Malou

i bought a gorgeous refectory table from Pierre Deux when he first opened his shop on Bleecker. It cost me big when i was buying most of my finds for next to nothing under the 3rd avenue el. i'm about to buck it onto the son who married a woman who digs it from the day we met and they've now got the big Hancock Park house and my head's no longer quite as ravenous. i

I look forward to reading more of your articles and posts in the future, so I've bookmarked your blog. When I see good quality content, I like to share it with others. So I've created a backlink to your site. Thank you!…

I received the French Country Diary 2012 Calendar on Christmas from a dear friend. I was scanning the calendar and oh my goodness; I notice the wallpaper examples in different back ground colors. I told my dear friend about it and she did not notice it. She could not afford one for herself so I decided to try to get her one.We always talking about visiting France and the calendar just give me ideas and information and I can take it along with me. I have added all my address; so when I am needed to send postcards to others I have it. I just enjoy the protective sleeve and my dear friend gave it to me as a gift instead of keeping it. She has a very warm heart and I just want her to have the French Country Calendar 2012 to enjoy it with me.

What a wonderful giveaway! I'm relatively new to reading blogs, but feel like it has opened a whole new world for me to so many people with such great tips and beautiful decorating ideas. It's also so much fun to peak into the lives of women in faraway places! Definitely going to check out Linda's books. Love your blog-sign me up! Huntingflowers@aol.com

Choose me. I just returned home from a fabulous trip in France and am in need of sustenance to get me through the summer. I can't get la belle France out of my mind. I've written and self published from my journals...Falling in Love With France (amazon). I paint french images. I try to cook french cuisine. Help me...chatfemme7@comcast.com